10 Lipstick Mistakes You Should Stop Making

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As a self-professed lipstick addict I basically think lipstick is magic. There’s so many shades and colors of lipsticks you can always find one to match your outfit or to add a pop of color. I also believe that lipstick doesn’t have to match your outfit at all, you can just use it as an accent or a fun way to add a bit of oomph to your look. Bottom line is – lipstick is a fun and versatile and basically magic. But way too often I see people making certain lipstick mistakes without realizing it. Let’s talk about that.

1. Liner
Never skip on liner. You need it to make the lipstick adhere to your lips better. Basically, if you don’t want your lipstick to slip and slide all over the place – use liner first. While we’re on the subject of liner, let’s also address this myth that you only need to outline your lips. Sure, that’ll prevent the lipstick from bleeding onto the rest of your face, but by the end of the day you will be left with a ring of color on the edge of your lips and no lipstick. So if you want your lipstick to be full proof – line all of your lips.

2. Overlining
While some people make the mistake of skipping on liner altogether, others use it in wrong ways. It’s true that you can line your lips in a way to make them appear fuller, but you don’t have to go into clown territory for that. You don’t want to be one of those girls who’s walking around looking like Miranda Sings, do you? Most of the time we line our lips along the inside edge of our lips. To make your lips look a bit fuller first use a bit of concealer to blur the edges of your lips and then use lip liner in the shade of your lips or just 1 shade darker to draw a line on the border or ever so slightly over the outside edge of your lips. And color in the rest of your lips in liner, obviously.3. Lip Gloss
I’ll be the first to say I’m not a huge fan of lip gloss. It’s sticky and messy and it just doesn’t work in windy weather. However, I see why people like it for adding a bit of color or making their lips look a bit fuller. It’s easy to use and simple and requires less precision than lipstick, but it’s also important not to go overboard. With lip gloss less is more. Just a light swipe will work the best, if you apply a thick layer – you’ll have a sticky mess on your hands and your face.

4. Chapstick
Chapsticks and lip balms are essential for those who likes to wear lipstick. Certain kinds of lipstick can dry your lips overtime, so using lip balm will help you prevent that and keep your lips moisturized and supple. However, it’s never a good idea to put lip balm on and then immediately put lipstick over it. It’ll all just slide around and your lipstick won’t last at all. What you should do is put on lip balm first, then do the rest of your face makeup, maybe do your hair, give your lip balm time to absorb and then apply lipstick.

5. Exfoliate
If your lips are chapped – they won’t look good with lipstick on. In fact, lipstick will only further embellish the dry spots on your lips. So if you want to rock a cool lipstick and look stunning, always remember to exfoliate your lips with lip scrubs and moisturize them afterwards.

6. Undertone
Lipstick is a lot like foundation, it’s awesome at transforming your look, but you need to find the correct shade in order to look good. If you pick a shade too dark you might look a bit vampy, but some people are into that. It’s also a general rule that depending on your skin color you need to pick cooler or warmer colors of lipsticks. But also pay attention to the undertones of lipstick. For example red is usually considered a warm color, but you can find a red lipstick with cooler blue undertones and it’ll work great for people with a paler complexion.7. Setting
If you want your lipstick to stay all day here’s a couple of tricks you might want to have up your sleeve. First of all, put on lip liner all over your lips, then put some primer on and do another layer of lip liner and only then apply lipstick. This will make sure your lipstick has more staying power. Another thing you can do is put a little bit of translucent setting powder after you’re done with lipstick.

8. Transferring
One of the most annoying things about lipsticks is that it can transfer onto your clothes or onto your teeth. But there’s an easy way to fix it. As we mentioned before – translucent powder is your friend in terms of making the lipstick stay on longer and it won’t transfer as much. Also, if you’re worried about transferring – stick to liquid matte, transfer free formulas. And when it comes to your teeth you should always do the finger test. After you’re done with applying your lipstick and blotting the excess with a tissue, stick a finger in your mouth and pull it out while puckering your lips. All the excess will end up on your finger and you won’t have to worry about having lipstick on your teeth.

9. Drying
A lot of liquid lipsticks and matte lipsticks dry out your lips, which can be counteracted with lip balms to an extent. But if you just have dry lips most of the time it’s probably not a great idea to wear drying lipsticks all the time. Instead switch to moisturizing formulas that have natural oils and butters in them. Thankfully, in this day and age, when it comes to lipsticks it’s possible to have both – a great color and moisturizing power.10. Occasion
As I mentioned in the beginning of this article there’s a lot to choose from when it comes to lipstick colors. There are classic colors, muted shades, nude lipsticks and bright, glitter and even neon lipsticks. And while you can own them all you sort of have to think about when it’s appropriate to wear each of those lipsticks. While the brighter, neon and glittery ones are great for festivals, parties, photoshoots and sometimes even just a casual day out, they will look very out of place at a work meeting or a conference. So pick your colors correctly and have fun!